Topics: Your Personal Rights - 269 results

If you find an unattended purse or wallet lying around New York City, you might want to be extra careful about your next move. There’s a chance the NYPD is watching — and if they think you intend to pocket the money, you could go to jail. That’s what happened in 2010 to Bronx resident Deirdre Myers and her 15-year-old daughter, neither of whom even touched the money they were accused of trying to steal. Their arrests were the result …

Cameras at traffic intersections photograph drivers who run red lights, making sure they are ticketed. Citizen activists say these cameras do not promote safety but are primarily for making money. The founder of the Red Light Camera Protest Group points out that the yellow light at one intersection in Fremont, Calif. was increased by a fraction of a second, and the number of violations dropped by over 50 percent. But the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says its studies conclude …

A federal court in Tennessee has refused to dismiss lawsuits against the owner and operator of the Coyote Ugly Saloon, where employees say tips are pooled illegally and they were retaliated against for suing over it. The retaliation suit came long after the original tip-pooling case was filed. Budding Buddhism: Bad Topic for the Blog Bartenders at the Nashville and San Antonio locations of the saloon, which is known for its bartenders’ and female customers’ dancing on the bar, …

In the frenzy to pursue the suspects in the bombing at the Boston Marathon, a number of innocent people were publicly scrutinized and falsely accused in both traditional and social media. Initially news sources reported that a Saudi man who had been injured in the blasts was a suspect — and in fact police did search the man’s apartment, with his consent. There were numerous other reports across a variety of news platforms that suspects had been identified and/or arrested, …

Most revelers at this year’s annual 4/20 celebration on the University of California – Santa Cruz campus were able to celebrate in traditional fashion — by smoking marijuana at the stroke of 4:20 — without police interference. But one ambitious individual was dealt a heartbreaking buzzkill when his two-pound joint was seized by campus police. In raw video uploaded to YouTube, officers can be seen toting away the massive joint while its former owner followed and voiced his objections. “You’re …